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Counting from the top of the lumbar vertebrae, the lumbar puncture is usually done between L3&L4 or between L4&L5. The reason for the choice is because the spinal cord ends with the Cauda Equina (essentially horse hair or horse tail) somewhere around L1 or L2. At this point one no longer has a spinal cord, but rather separate nerves. So, above L1, there would be a significant risk of sticking the needle into the solid spinal cord causing pain and damage. Below L3 the individual nerves will move out of the way of the needle and there is less risk of hitting the spinal cord.

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15y ago

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